Spring-arbor bearing for clocks



(No Model.)

F. STREET. SPRING ARBOR BEARING FOR cLocKs. No. 615,697.

Patented Feb. 27, 1894.

Witnesses F lnvegz'tor Q 4 z red tree 51m} (worms/J UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED STREET, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPRING-ARBOR BEARING FOR CLOCKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 515,697, dated February 27, 1894.

Application filed August 7, 1893.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRED STREET, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Spring-Arbor Bearings for Clock Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to permit of the convenient renewal or repair of the spring or ratchet mechanism forming part of the winding gear of a clock, by providing for the ready detachability of the spring arbor and the parts carried thereby without removing any of the other parts of the clock mechanism.

My invention consists of a special construction and combination of parts fully described and claimed hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawingsz-Figure 1, is a perspective view of the frame of an ordinary form of clock mechanism showing one spring arbor with its spring, winding gear and spur wheel in place therein, the other spring arbor and its corresponding parts being removed. Fig. 2, is a view of the spring arbor, spring, winding gear and spur wheel so removed from the frame. Fig. 3, is a perspective View of the detachable bearing sleeve for the spring arbor. Fig. 4, is a perspective view of the retainer for said sleeve. Fig. 5, is a sectional view of said retainer; and Fig. 6, is a view illustrating a modification of the invention.

In ordinary clock mechanism, the bearings for the spring arbors are formed in the opposite plates A A of the frame, and the outer end of the spring is attached to one of the connecting rods or bolts to of said frame, so that the removal or replacing of the spring or spring arbor necessitates the taking apart of the framework with its attendant disarrangement of all the other parts of the clock mechanism. In order to overcome this objection, various plans have been devised for effecting the removal of the spring arbor with its winding gear, spring and spur wheel without dis turbing any of the other parts of the mechanism. I attain this result in the following manner. ThespringB,springarborD,ratchet wheel F, pawl F, pawl spring l) and spur wheel M are all constructed in the usual manher and the rear end of the spring arbor D is $erial No, 482,513. (No model.)

adapted to an opening in the rear plate A of the frame as usual, but the front bearing for said arbor is formed in a sleeve G which is let into a recess 61 formed in the front plate A of the frame, said recess 62 being located about midway of a largerrecessfin said frame. To this latter recess is adapted a retaining block. J, which is beveled at the lower end as shown at i, in Fig. 5, to engage with the undercut lower portion or of the recess f, said retaining block having side flanges n at top and bottom forflanking the front plate A and preventing any lateral displacement of the retaining plate, which is secured in place by means of a screw or pin p passing through an opening in said front plate A and through openings in the upper flanges n of the plate J, as shown in Fig. 1. The sleeve G is also provided with flanges s for engagement with the front plate A and retainer plate J, in order to prevent lateral displacement of said sleeve, and the sleeve is prevented from turning by reason of lugs or pins 6 on the plate J, these lugs or pins projecting into recess t formed in the flanges s. The outer end of the spring B in' stead of being attached to the connecting rod or bolt a of the frame, as usual, is adapted toa short pin w projecting from the rear plate of the frame and extending only about half-way across from one frame to the other so that there is sufficient space between the end of the pin and the front plate of the frame to permit of the detaching of the outer end of the spring from the pin. WVhen, therefore, it is desired to detach the spring arbor and the parts carried thereby, the screw or pin 10 is removed and the retaining plate J detached, thus freeing the front end of the arbor and permitting the same to be moved outward until the sleeve G is free from the control of the front plate of the frame, whereupon the arbor can be removed longitudinally until its rear end is free from the opening in the rear plate of the frame, and the shaft can then be swung downward and outward until the spur wheel m is clear of the frame, the spring being then moved sidewise until it is released from the pin w. These operations are reversed in order to reapply the parts.

It will be evident that instead of beveling the lower end of the retaining plate and the lower portion of the recess in the front plate I of the frame, said retaining plate can be socured at both ends by means of set screws or pins, if desired, or other means of retaining the sleeve may be adopted without departing from the essential feature of my invention, for instance, the sleeve may be screwed into a segmental recess in the edge of the'front plate of the frame, as shown in Fig. 6, that portion of the plate in which the recess is formed being thickened, if desired, in order to provide more surface in which to cut the thread.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination of the frame and spring arbor of clock mechanism, witha short pin on the frame independent of the brace bars for retaining the outer end of the spring, but from which said spring can be removed laterally, a detachable bearing for one end of the spring arbor, and means for retaining said bearing in position on the frame, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the recessed frame, the springarbor, thedetachablebearing seated in said recess and carrying one end of said spring arbor, a retainer plate engaging with the beveled lower end of the recess and means for securing the upper end of said retainer plate to the frame, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the recessed frame, the spring arbor, the detachable bearing therefor, the retainer plate adapted to the recess in the frame, and having lugs engaging with recesses in the bearing, and means for securing said retainer plate to the frame, substantially as specified.

In testimony'whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence 0 two subscribing witnesses.

FRED STREET.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH H. KLEIN, HENRY HoWsoN. 

